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Essential Fluids With Matlab And Octave - Part 2 (Application), Panchapakesan Venkataraman

Open Access Books by RIT Staff and Faculty

This books continues from Essential Fluids with MATLAB and Octave (Part 1), , which is a free, open access, eBook that can be downloaded from the download page. The reader is encouraged to acquire the book as it will be referenced for figures, equations, and examples in Part 2. The reader is also encouraged to visit the prerequisites and information about fluid mechanics found in Chapters 1, 2, and 3 as they are not included in Part 2.

One Land, “Different Owners”: Theoretical Explanations Of Communal Conflicts In Nigeria, Chukwudi G. Njoku

Journal of Peace, Conflict, and Security Studies

Communal conflicts are prevalent in Nigeria, with thousands of fatalities recorded. Literature suggests that an overwhelming percentage of these conflicts are land ownership related. Through a systematic review of literature and an analysis of conflict data, this study provides further understanding of the role of land ownership and competition in the occurrence and lethality of communal conflicts. It argues that land competition, more than other socio-economic factors is the key driver of communal conflicts in Nigeria. The findings from the analyses are explained with three theories – the tragedy of the commons which proved that the conflicts are triggered by …

Assessment Of Nigeria's Military's Efforts In Combating Boko Haram Terrorism (2015-2023), Adedoyin Jolaade Omede, Oluwafemi Babatunde Oladimeji

Journal of Peace, Conflict, and Security Studies

This study assessed the Nigerian military’s efforts in combat against Boko Haram's terrorism between 2015 and 2023. This study adopted a qualitative methodology. Secondary data was utilised, and the data was analysed using content analysis to achieve the objectives of this study. The key findings are: initially, the Western states particularly the US hesitated to give Nigeria support against Boko Haram due to Herskovits Factor and human rights (Leahy Law) concerns but later in 2015, they provided military aid and financial support alongside other international actors; there was a decline in Boko Haram’s attacks and fatalities between 2015 and 2023 …

Access In Teaching Stem Subjects To The Blind, Ashley E. Neybert

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

There are still many gaps in the literature regarding the difficulties faced by instructors of students who are blind and low vision and who teach Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) subjects. We surveyed 26 K-12 STEM teachers about accessible materials they are aware of versus which accessible materials they use in their classrooms, their thoughts on how common challenges identified in the extent literature affect them in their teaching, and their perspective on how much extra time may be required for blind and low vision students (if any) to effectively learn STEM subjects.

Women Entrepreneurs In Kosovo: Family And Institutional Implications, Lona Arifi

Theses

Women’s entrepreneurship represents an important source of economic participation, job creation, and local development in Kosovo. Despite gradual progress, women entrepreneurs continue to face structural constraints linked to family responsibilities, unequal care burdens, and uneven institutional support. This study examines how family-related responsibilities and institutional support mechanisms interact to shape the entrepreneurial experiences of women entrepreneurs in Kosovo. The analysis is guided by the 5M framework of women’s entrepreneurship developed by Brush et al. (2009) and applies a mixed-methods research design combining survey data from 145 women-owned businesses, semi-structured interviews, and secondary evidence. The findings show that women entrepreneurs in …

A Bibliometric And Descriptive Analysis Of The Disciplinary Affiliations Of Research About Students With Disabilities In College-Level Science Education, Tongriang N. Daspan M.Ed, Aaron C. Wenger Phd, Brandy Pleasants Phd

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Despite the global emphasis on equity and the need for inclusive science education, students with disabilities (SwDs) encounter persistent barriers in college-level science learning environments. While prior research has explored isolated challenges faced by SwDs, few studies have examined how these challenges vary across science disciplines. Yet, science education research is often situated within distinct disciplinary traditions, such as biology education research or geoscience education research, known collectively as Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER). Understanding the disciplinary distribution of research on SwDs is essential to identifying gaps and fostering cross-disciplinary learning. This study maps trends and patterns in the disciplinary affiliations …

A Large-Scale Annotated Flight Time-Series Dataset And Geospatial Post-Flight Analysis Tools For Ngafid, Roman Kozulia

Theses

This work presents three contributions to the National General Aviation Flight Information Database (NGAFID): a maintenance-linked flight dataset forpredictivemaintenanceresearch, anaviationchartprocessingservice, and an interactive geospatial heat map for post-flight event analysis. The first contribution is a maintenance-linked flight dataset for predic- tive maintenance and prognostics research in general aviation. The dataset contains approximately 100,000 non-simulated maintenance work orders and more than a million multivariate flight recordings extracted from NGAFID. Eachflightisassociatedwithmaintenancerecordsandlabeledaspre-maintenance, day-of-maintenance, or post-maintenance. Flights are exported as one-hertz sensor time series with flight-phase annotations, while a clustering pipeline groups technician-written maintenance records into event categories. To our knowledge, thisisthelargestpubliclyavailablegeneralaviationflightdataset linked to …

Lost In Translation: Quantifying Political Sociolect Divergence And Testing Llm Reliability As Political Interpreters, Daniel J. Corcoran

Theses

In the United States political sphere, growing polarization between Democrats and Republicans, particularly their more ideologically extreme wings, has given rise to distinct English-adjacent languages, shaped by social tendencies and referred to as “sociolects”. These sociolects offer a new avenue to analyze and further quantify growing polarization, and as Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) become increasingly embedded in political and social analysis, understanding their depth of political reasoning, biases, and classification behavior has become imperative. In this study, we sourced comment data from the CNN, Fox, and MSNBC YouTube channels, spanning from 2020 through 2024, trained …

Navigating Errors: Voice Assistants And Aging Users, Bea Marithe V. Pulido

Theses

This study examined how age relates to usability, cognitive load, and affect when using voice-user interfaces (VUIs). VUIs such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Home are increasingly common and allow users to complete tasks through voice commands. While these systems can be convenient and accessible, especially for older adults, they often provide brief or unclear feedback when errors occur, making it difficult for users to understand what went wrong and how to continue the interaction. The current study compared older and younger adults (n = 40) to examine group differences in perceived usability, cognitive load, and affective change during VUI …

Rebranding Architecture: Understanding Perception To Reinforce Professional Jurisdiction, Amber L. Whitaker

Theses

What is the current perception of the architecture profession, and what is the perception that architects want others to have? In the marketing and communications profession, one might ask, what is the profession’s current brand, and how does that differ from the desired brand? From inconsistent state laws regarding architectural titles, to the potential federal reclassification of the profession, to non-architects’ common misconception that architects merely draw floorplans, the architecture profession is misunderstood, causing an image problem. Although architecture is one of the world’s oldest professions, this image problem often translates into deep misunderstanding of what architects do, ultimately affecting …

All The Pretty Ponies, David Rose

Theses

Adopting a nonconventional, narrative approach, this thesis explores a world of ponies where memories become distorted and rewritten through the author’s self-insert of a 'little pink pony' persona to illustrate the psychological states investigated in the exhibit. This paper serves as an artistic companion piece to the thesis exhibition by David Rose that featured these concepts through visual media. David utilizes painting, screenprinting, and animation as mediums for this body of work. This thesis is written like a story because David’s work is founded on the principle of creating and displaying an experience rather than simply stating the facts. Through …

Chronotivity: Concurrent And Prospective Influences On Creative Performance Among College Students, Hreem Mahadeshwar

Theses

Creativity is increasingly understood as a dynamic process influenced by biological, psychological, and contextual factors. Previous research has linked chronotype, sleep quality, affect, curiosity, and creative self-efficacy to creative performance; however, relatively little is known about how these factors jointly relate to creativity among college students or whether they predict creative performance over time. The present study examined concurrent and prospective relationships in undergraduate students at RIT (T1: n = 210; T2: n = 38), between these variables and creative performance using a two-timepoint design. Creative performance was assessed using the Alternative Uses Task and scored for creative quality and …

Multi-Omic Analysis Of Molecular Changes In Haloferax Volcanii Biofilm Development, Joshua Koller

Theses

Biofilms are the predominant lifestyle of microorganisms and offer protection against environmental stress. Archaeal biofilm development remains poorly understood relative to its bacterial counterpart, and the fundamental differences between these two domains prevent direct extrapolation from bacterial models. To address this gap, we used quantitative proteomics and transcriptomics to characterize the molecular changes accompanying biofilm formation and maturation in the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii. Protein and transcript abundance were measured across seven conditions spanning both lifestyles and multiple timepoints, with glycosylated proteoforms quantified as entities distinct from their unmodified counterparts, covering both established biofilm-associated structures and newly identified candidates. Known …

Retroverse: Enhancing Fashion Shopping Experience Through Augmented Reality, Fanghao Wang

Theses

RetroVerse is a conceptual augmented reality (AR) application that reimagines the vintage fashion shopping experience by addressing the information gaps that often make secondhand purchasing uncertain and inefficient. As the resale market continues to grow, consumers frequently struggle to identify garments, verify authenticity, evaluate condition, compare prices, and determine fit, requiring them to rely on multiple platforms and personal knowledge before making a purchase. To address these challenges, RetroVerse integrates augmented reality, image recognition, and contextual product information into a unified shopping experience. Through video and live garment scanning, users can access brand history, manufacturing information, condition assessments, marketplace price …

A Scalable And Physically Interpretable Machine Learning Approach To Analyzing Agn Spectra, Liza Maria Matrecito Salcedo

Theses

The broad-line region (BLR) is a sub-parsec region in an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) where dense, optically thick gas clouds produce broad emission lines (BELs). BELs are important probes of physical processes near the central supermassive black hole (SMBH); however, a complete understanding of the BLR’s structure and dynamics remains lacking. The observed diversity in BEL profile shapes suggests substantial differences in BLR properties across AGN. The availability of large-scale spectroscopic databases provides a valuable opportunity to systematically study these properties in large samples of AGN. They also offer the opportunity to identify rare but important systems, such as SMBH …

Ikaros: See Through Time, Aisha F. A. Alnouri

Theses

Conventional heritage interpretation often relies on static signage, creating an "information void" where physical ruins sit uncontextualized. This thesis addresses this issue by proposing an interactive spatial information system designed to dynamically display, and contextualize architectural heritage in real time. Designed as a global framework, Failaka Island in Kuwait serves as the primary case study, driven by a personal cultural connection and the need to bridge the island's post-war generational disconnect. Positioned at the intersection of information design, interactive media, and spatial visualization, the system, Ikaros, utilizes Hellenistic Temple B, a 3rd-century BCE sanctuary, as its core testbed. The touchscreen …

Cross-Layer Security And Responsive Evaluation Architectures For Quantum Resistance In Connected Vehicles, Geoff Twardokus

Theses

Connected vehicle (CV) technologies are emerging as a crucial technology for improving safety on future roadways. Wireless vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication allows CVs to exchange information that provides enhanced awareness and supports better driving decisions, especially in high-risk or non-line-of-sight scenarios. However, V2X also exposes new surfaces to physical layer attacks and increasingly sophisticated, potentially quantum-capable threat actors. As human or autonomous CV drivers will make split-second safety-critical decisions based on the contents of V2X messages, ensuring their authenticity, as well as their reliable and timely delivery, is crucial. Otherwise, malicious attackers may interfere with safety services or spoof messages to …

Capital Cities: The Intersection Of Power And Protest Urban Planning And Civic Design In Brasília And Washington, D.C., Noah Benjamin Gill

Theses

The physical environments of capital cities play a critical role in shaping how citizens interact with governmental power, particularly during moments of political unrest, protest, and democratic conflict. As both symbolic representations of national identity and functional centers of government, these urban landscapes influence how citizens approach, occupy, and confront civic institutions through their planning, architectural form, circulation networks, and spatial organization. Government buildings, public plazas, monumental landscapes, and civic axes do more than provide settings for political activity; they actively shape patterns of movement, visibility, accessibility, and control. The design of these spaces influences not only how democratic institutions …

Analyzing The Effects Of Biodegradable Plastic Fragments On Maize Development And Defense Signaling, Ulysses Hampton

Theses

As plastic use shifts from non-degradable to biodegradable materials, the effects of biodegradable plastic fragments on crop physiology remain unclear. This study investigated how biodegradable plastic fragments influence maize development, transpiration, and defense signaling. Among five plastic types tested, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polylactic acid (PLA), and thermoplastic starch (TPS). PBAT and TPS showed the most significant effects and were selected for further oxylipin analysis. Results indicate that biodegradable plastic fragments can alter oxylipin signaling pathways in subtle but meaningful ways, suggesting that these materials are not inherently risk-free alternatives to conventional plastics.

Biochar-Derived Ethylene Scavengers For The Preservation Of Bananas, Morgan Samson

Theses

Ethylene regulates the rapid ripening of numerous climacteric fruits (e.g., banana, tomato, mango, and avocado). Minimization of ethylene formation and action in fruits during harvest or at any stage along the supply chain has become an important approach to prolong storage periods and minimize postharvest losses. Active packaging with ethylene scavengers has been proven to extend the shelf life of climacteric fruits; however, a cost-effective and sustainable solution is needed. Biochar-derived ethylene scavengers offer a promising approach to minimize postharvest losses, along with the valorization of abundant organic residues. This study produced and characterized biochars from two different feedstocks (i.e., …

Pixel Weave: Explore The Craft, Share The Story, Janki Akbari

Theses

Traditional craft practices are often preserved as finished objects rather than experienced as active systems of knowledge. As a result, the techniques, visual logic, and cultural meaning behind these crafts become less accessible to broader audience. Pixel Weave addresses this challenge by translating the double ikat (a premium, highly complex weaving technique in which both the warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) yarns are individually resist-dyed to a preplanned pattern before being placed on the loom, so that the design only fully emerges once the two dyed yarn sets are woven together) weaving logic of Patan Patola, a centuries old textile …

The Mediating Role Of Moral Disengagement In The Relationship Between Facets Of Empathy And Aggression, Romiere J. Horace

Theses

Aggression is a major social and public health concern with economic, psychological, and interpersonal implications. Extensive research has examined the potential antecedents for aggressive behavior, with many different environmental, biological, and intrapsychic factors being significantly associated with aggression. Researchers have also focused on cognitive mechanisms, like empathy, as a protective factor for aggression. More specifically, research has linked lower levels of empathy to higher levels of aggression; however, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship remain underexplored. A potential explanatory mechanism is moral disengagement, which allows individuals to justify harmful behaviors and avoid self-sanctions. However, limited research has examined these constructs …

The Role Of Perceived Academic And Peer Support In Mitigating Imposter Syndrome Among Adhd Students, Eden Morley Dr

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in higher education is associated with significant executive functioning deficits and performance inconsistencies. These challenges, alongside heightened rejection sensitivity, may predispose students to the Imposter Phenomenon (IP)—the persistent belief that one’s success is undeserved. While social and academic supports are known to buffer psychological distress, their specific role in mitigating IP within the ADHD student population remains under-researched.

Objectives: This study investigated the severity of IP among undergraduate students with ADHD and examined the protective roles of Perceived Social Support (PSS) and Perceived Academic Support (PAS), while exploring gender as a potential moderator.

Methodology: A cross-sectional …

Meridian, Rachel Seaton

Theses

Meridian is an ambient tabletop object that translates physiological data into a continuously evolving visual landscape. Rather than presenting emotional information through charts or notifications, it exists as a quiet environmental presence that can be understood through peripheral awareness. A simulated biometric system drives a particle field whose movement reflects physiological variation, producing eight distinct visual signatures. The visual system is governed by four parameters: field density, field disturbance, signal trace, and signal duration, which together shape the behavior and persistence of the particle field. The teardrop form was selected for its ability to convey both the passage of time …

Large Language Model-Driven Agents In Virtual Reality For Inclusive Communication Training, Ziming Li

Theses

Vocational training programs aimed at improving the employability and autonomy of autistic individuals primarily focus on enhancing social communication skills. However, developing and implementing such training activities often demands significant time and effort from job coaches, who must adapt to various interview and workplace scenarios while customizing the training to meet the specific needs of autistic trainees. These challenges create barriers for job coaches to efficiently train autistic individuals and objectively evaluate their performance. To address these challenges, this dissertation explores the use of virtual reality (VR) and large language model (LLM)-driven agents to create customizable and interactive training platforms …

Integrated Sources Of Photon-Pairs For Quantum Networking, Vijay Soorya Shunmuga Sundaram

Theses

Quantum networking enables the distribution of quantum information across distant nodes, unlocking capabilities such as secure communication, distributed quantum computing, enhanced metrology, and tests of fundamental physics. Photons serve as the natural carriers of quantum information over long distances due to their low loss in optical fibers and robustness to environmental decoherence. However, the practical realization of quantum networks remains limited by the lack of photon sources that are simultaneously compatible with diverse quantum systems, stable over long timescales, and suitable for deployment in real-world fiber infrastructure.  This dissertation addresses these challenges through the co-development of photon-pair sources and a …

The Effect Of Aquatic Pollution On (Green) Microbial Communities In The Greater Rochester Area, Francesca Molee

Theses

Retention ponds are built in urban and suburban areas to catch the polluted runoff that would otherwise go into highly-valued freshwater ecosystems like the Great Lakes. They therefore make ideal model ecosystems to consider the effect of chemical, common pollution on aquatic communities. To understand the impact this aquatic pollution on both microbial community composition alongside green microbial physiological stress response, water column and sediment microbial communities were sampled from three retention ponds, and three non-retention, created ponds. The first part of this study focused on the microbial community composition. Using 16s amplicon sequencing on and subsequent analysis using Qiime2, …

Topological Tools For The Analysis Of Complex Networks And Higher-Order Networks, Jason P. Laruez

Theses

This dissertation investigates the intersection of topological data analysis and network science, applying and extending persistent homology, Betti numbers, and simpliciality measures to study temporal, evolving, and coevolving networked systems. We introduce a multi-layer zigzag persistent homology framework for analyzing temporal hypergraphs across multiple timescales simultaneously, and validate it on the DARPA Operationally Transparent Cyber dataset, where it produces topological signatures that distinguish malicious from benign network activity by source IP. We then apply topological tools to classical generative network models and their hypergraph extensions, characterizing how Betti numbers, filling efficiencies, and simpliciality measures evolve as these models grow or …

The Basketball Player Performance Analysis And Game Strategy Of Optimization, Khalid Juma Obaid Ghabish Yaqoub

Theses

NBA games generate a lot of data, thanks to tracking technologies like SportVU and Second Spectrum. This thesis will used this data to help understand player performance, team strategies, and game outcomes. We use advanced statistics and machine learning techniques to analyze player performance, like how efficiently they shoot (eFG%), their overall impact on the game (PER), and how much of the team's offense they use (USG%). We can also visualize shot charts to see where players tend to shoot from. Looking at team-level data, we can analyze offensive and defensive ratings, how well teams pass the ball, and how …

Assistive Active Safety, Long Nguyen

Theses

As electric bicycles become faster and more prevalent in urban environments, the safety systems designed to protect riders face significant challenges. The current industry standard relies heavily on auditory warnings—which can exclude Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HOH) cyclists—and digital dashboards that often demand intense visual focus. Forcing a rider to process cluttered screen data while navigating high-speed traffic can contribute to cognitive overload and physical danger. This thesis explores how micro-mobility safety might be improved by shifting away from auditory-dependent alerts toward intuitive, multi-sensory communication. To address this safety gap, this project introduces the Assistive Active Safety (AAS) framework. …